Ojah BV announces the launch of ‘The World’s First Vegan Ribs’
Plant-based ingredients producer Ojah BV, known by the industry for its chicken-alternative Plenti, will launch the “world’s first” vegan ribs in December, during the Food Ingredients Europe trade show in Paris.
“For the past 6 years, Ojah has been working on extending its high moisture extruded (HME) ingredients portfolio,” said Joeri Hollink, head of product development at Ojah.
“We were focussed on developing a new texture, based on a different protein source than soya, but with the same wow-effect as Plenti.”
The ribs are made with Ojah’s newly developed texture, called Heppi. An HME texture made from yellow peas and water and a protein content of 25%, this innovation also delivers from a nutritional point of view. Heppi delivers the bite, mouthfeel and juiciness of meat that carnivores appreciate. It is 100% plant-based and chock-full of proteins, making it ideal for consumers who want to reduce their meat intake but still want a meat-like experience.
“With the premiere of Vegan Ribs during Fi Europe in Paris, Ojah demonstrates how Heppi can be used to mimic pork ribs. Naturally without the bone” said Hollink.
The Vegan Ribs will seduce even hardcore meat lovers and will, according to Hollink, “be dripping all over your lips and spoil your favourite t-shirt”.
The ribs come as a ‘rack’ of approximately 10 ribs, making them ideal for grilling on a BBQ or for quickly warming-up in the oven. As the ribs are boneless, they can be served on a bun to create a vegan rib burger.
To manage the expected strong demand, Ojah plans to introduce the ribs in Dutch foodservice outlets first. In the second half of 2020, Ojah plans to expand production capacity and make Heppi available to preferred food manufacturing partners.
